Mack and Volvo Trucks North America Suspend Manufacturing

Dublin, VA – Mack Trucks and Volvo Trucks North America has suspended manufacturing as mitigation efforts to the spread of COVID-19 continue to impact the trucking industry.

Last Thursday, Volvo Trucks NA officials confirmed all manufacturing of its vehicles at facilities in Macungie, PA; Dublin, VA; and Hagerstown, MD, had been suspended and will be so until at least March 27.

In a statement, Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks NA, said, “As of today our supply chain is stable, however, out of an abundance of caution we have suspended our manufacturing operations to protect plant employees.”

Voorhoeve also assured, “Volvo Trucks support operations continue to run as normal and we are maintaining all service, parts and uptime operations because we know they are mission critical for your business.”

Further, Voorhoeve indicated Volvo’s Uptime Center Action Service Centers are on call for customers and dealers.

The temporary manufacturing shut down also will not impact Volvo Financial Services operations.

What About Other Truck Makers?

The Daimler Group, makers of Freightliner commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), announced on March 17 it was shutting down its production in Europe for at least two weeks.

The suspension applies to Daimler’s car, van and commercial vehicle plants in Europe.

The company said its global supply chains cannot be maintained to their full extent and warned the shut down could last longer than two weeks.

So far, Daimler has not indicated if it will suspend production in the U.S. amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Similarly, Peterbilt, Kenworth, and Navistar have yet to suspend operations at its manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

Major automakers such as Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler each announced last week temporary shut downs of North American production facilities.

Transportation Nation Network will continue to follow new developments.

Tire Manufacturers Too

Also late last week, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. and Bridgestone Americas announced temporary shutdowns of it production facilities in North America and Latin America.

Click HERE to find out how long these companies say the production halts will likely last.